Katyn Forrest Massacre
Kali Youngblood 7
The Katyn Massacre all started on the fourteenth of April 1943 during World War II and was located near Gneizdovo village. It was a mass execution of polish soldiers who were taken prisoners that were shot and buried.
"They took those who were too independent, too influential, too noteworthy; they took particularly many poles from former Polish Provinces" - Gualag Archipelago. There were ove 4,000 soldiers who had been shot. The Germans said they found a huge ditch that was about 28 meters long and 16 meters wide piled with dead polish soldiers fully dressed in their uniforms. The burial locations of the remaining officers and others considered to be a threat to Soviet Union remain unknown. The government demanded the Red Cross to examine the dead bodies and try to figure out what had happened the Soviets didn't allow it and soon dreaded diplomatic relations with the government. The United States found out about the Katyn Massacre and many books had been written about the subject. There is also a memorial located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Joseph Stalin, a general secretary, denied the charges and claimed that the Nazis were responsible for murder even though they weren't. It was a mystery who was actually responsible, but in November 2010, State Duma (lower house of Russian Federal Assembly) officially declared Joseph Stalin and other soviet leaders were accountable of ordering the mass execution of Polish officers.
The three camps were named Kozielsk, Starobielsk, and Ostashkov and held over fourteen thousand prisoners behind barbed wire and walls. The camps themselves were horrifying. There was bugs, lice, and filth everywhere. They barely got any food or water and were extremely skinny with their bones visible. Kozielsk contained more than just officers, it contained surgeons, physicians, barristers, and lawyers. Starobielsk held only officers from the polish military. Ostashkov contained officers but also contained anyone from Poland who was considered a 'bourgeois'.
Katyn Forest massacre 1 english
"A report has reached us from Smolensk to the effect that the local inhabitants has mentioned to the German authorities the existence of a place where mass executions have been carried out by the Bolsheviks and where 10,000 Polish officers have been murdered by the Soviet Secret State Police. The German authorities went to a place called Hill of Goats, a Russian health resort situated twelve kilometers west of Smolensk, where a gruesome discovery was made." - Radio Berlin broadcast.
Katyn Massacre memorial
Memorial located in New Jersey.
Tied up prisoners
Innocent prisoners who got shot with ropes tied behind their back and buried in the large ditch.
Joseph Stalin
General secretary who got away with murder. He's the one who lead the mass execution of polish soldiers.
Sources
"European History: Your Resource to Europe’s Past." About.com Education. Robert Wilde, Web. 01 Feb. 2016. <http://europeanhistory.about.com/>.
"History Learning Resources." History Learning Site. C N Trueman, 18 May 2015. Web. 01 Feb. 2016. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/>.
"Institute for Historical Review." Institute for Historical Review. Louis FitzGibbon, Web. 01 Feb. 2016. <http://www.ihr.org/>.
"Katyn Forest Massacre." Katyn Forest Massacre. ,Web. 01 Feb. 2016. <http://www.katyn.org.au/>